How to Make Retaining Walls Out of Concrete Bags

Robert Gomez

Retaining walls are built to hold back soil and other types of dirt. They are found in many places. You will find retaining walls built around stairways or on the freeway where there are hills. Retaining walls are used in gardens or yards to create different levels or around the base of a home to prevent the ground beneath the foundation from eroding and sliding away. There are block retaining walls, stone retaining walls and poured concrete retaining walls but these can be quite complicated and expensive. A simple cost-effective way to make a retaining wall is to stack 60-lb. concrete bags. Over time the bags will degrade and you will have an elegant and permanent retaining wall.

Retaining walls are often used at beaches because sand erodes easily.

Step 1

Level the ground where you want to build your retaining wall with your shovel. If you are leveling a very large area or an extremely uneven surface, you may need to use a tractor.

Step 2

Lay the first level of concrete bags out where the wall will be built up.

Step 3

Stack the second level of concrete bags on the first level. Stagger the second-level bags over the bags on the first level. Do this by placing the center of the second-level bag over the divide between two bags below it on the first level. Shift the bags back about 1/2 to 1 inch towards the hill that you are building the wall around to give the wall extra strength.

Step 4

Repeat the stacking process described in Step 2 until you have stacked five levels of concrete bags.